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6.12.2012

I'm always on Pinterest looking for some ideas of what to eat, aren't you? Well, here's my own little roundup of some things I like to eat. Try them, if you'd like :)

1. Some of my go-to lunches :: tuna salad with cucumbers and homemade cilantro-lime vinaigrette on spinach; fresh fruit with a side of greek yogurt; sliced veggies with hummus and a hard boiled egg; BLT wrapped in whole grain tortilla with more cilantro-lime vinaigrette.

2. Snack time faves :: fresh fruit, usually with a handful of almonds.

3. Breakfast :: I almost always have an egg over-easy on a piece of whole wheat toast, but sometimes I'll mix it up with oatmeal, fresh fruit and chopped almonds.

4. Dinner :: usually consists of chicken breast, salmon and very rarely (like once a month) red meat. Usually I'll pair salmon with a fruit salsa or grilled fruit, a grain (like brown rice or quinoa) and some fresh veggies; roasted veggies with extra virgin olive oil and garlic to go with grilled chicken; and, one night a week I'll make pizza with homemade dough, this is the boys' favorite night of the week.

6.05.2012

This is a sprint distance, women's only triathlon with a 750 meter swim at Lawrence Youngman Lake, a 20 kilometer bike and a 5 kilometer run.

It is one of about 50 USAT sanctioned, women's only races in the United States. This year was the 2nd annual race and I feel honored and proud to be a part of the first two races.

I always get nerves before a race, but there is something calming about being surrounded by a bunch of women with the same goals and fears as me. This race included women of all ages, the oldest being 67 (!) to the youngest at 9 competing as part of a team with her family. There is such great camaraderie at this event. I mean, at how many races do you see complete strangers hugging each other before the gun sounds to start? That's women for you :) That is why I do this race.

OK, so here are the details of my race. First, let me start of by saying that my main competitor? It was me. Last year, despite it being my first triathlon ever, I felt like I could have done way better. I went into last years race with a goal time of under 2 hours. I finished in 2:02, slap in the face. So this year I was really determined to finish in under 2 hours.

The Swim
For the swim they had us start in waves, an under 34 group, a 35-44 group and a 45 and older group. The young-ins went first, then my group 3 minutes later. As my group is waiting for our start time, a woman next to me nervously asks me about the swim caps, if I think they will pop off during the swim. In my experience, over my years of competitive swimming, I have never had a problem with my swim cap popping off. So I tell her confidently, Nah, shouldn't be a problem. Hahaha! Guess whose swim cap popped off 5 minutes into the swim? MINE! I kept yanking on it to try and get it back into place, but between all of my super thick hair and the new-swim-cap-talc it was just not going to stay on. I was hoping this wasn't a sign of things to come in the rest of the race. I stopped for a few seconds, tread water, and tried to get my cap back on. Note to self: Rinse powdery stuff from new swim cap! I should have known this, it's not like I'm a rookie swimmer. So, compared to last year, I finished 4 seconds SLOWER! I'm sure it would have been different if it wasn't for this. Ah well, you live, you learn.

The Bike
After the swim cap debacle, I made my way out of the water, stripped off my wetsuit and other swim gear and got ready for the bike portion of the race. Last year, this leg of the race was my demise. It was hard. Very hilly and I had no prior bike racing experience. I borrowed a bike from a friend, but it wasn't a road bike. This time I had my own bike, a road bike, and I think it made all the difference in the world. It was still hard. But I also had much more outdoor training this year. Mike told me as I was changing in the transition area I looked very "nonchalant" and it looked like I was in no hurry at all. He said all I was missing on my bike was a bell and tassels! That's me, though, I'm a very nonchalant, stress free person. Like I said, I wasn't really racing against the other women, I was racing against myself. And somehow I knew that the bike portion of this race was going to be better than last year. And it was, I finished a whole 12 minutes faster this time!

The Run
I think I was most nervous about the run this time around. I know my quads will be on fire and the first part of the run is uphill. The best part of the race was seeing my family's faces at the beginning and end of each event. I remember seeing them at the beginning of the run and telling Mike, "I'm tired!" He said, "Nah, you got this!" And hearing my boys saying GO MOMMY GO gave me the fuel to finish off the last 3.1 miles of the race. But, oh so hilly! I seriously didn't think I could get my legs to move after that HILLY 12.5 mile bike ride. But I did, and managed to finish the run about a minute faster than last year.

The Finish Line
It was surreal to see the finish line, it took me a minute or two to realize that I was done. People were handing me water, removing my timing chip, putting on my medal. I wasn't until I was out of the crowd of people at the finish line that I was like, "Oh, I'm done!"

And yes, the first thing I did was pull out my phone and snap a pic! :)